AG Horne Announces Yavapai County Woman Sentenced To Three Years in Prison For Prescription Drug Fraud

PHOENIX (Thursday, December 20, 2012) -- Attorney General Tom Horne announced today that a Dewey-Humboldt woman has been sentenced to prison for prescription drug fraud.

33-year old Jodie Leanne Cox received a sentence of three years in the Arizona Department of Corrections on five counts of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices.

“Crimes related to prescription drug fraud are a serious matter,” Horne said. “These crimes compromise the integrity of our health care system. They make unwitting co-conspirators out of law-abiding citizens and out of doctors and pharmacies operating in good faith. They also increase costs, and, most seriously, they endanger people’s lives.”

Horne added, “I want to thank the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office, the Yavapai County PANT (Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking) Taskforce, and the Yavapai County Prescription Drug Taskforce for their hard work and cooperation on this case.”

Cox was charged by the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office in a 134-count indictment. The investigation revealed that from August 2009 to April 2011 Cox illegally obtained approximately 15,000 Hydrocodone pills. She used her knowledge as a medical assistant to fill without doctor authorization more than 100 false prescriptions in her own name and in the names of her family members. These crimes occurred at various pharmacies in Yavapai and Maricopa counties. A search of Cox’s residence revealed a number of prescription pill bottles in Cox’s name and in the names of her family members.

This case was referred to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office by the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office and was prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Health Care Fraud and Abuse Section in Prescott.